Stored program controllers (S.C.) are programmed using programming devices and/or programming units, as they are described, e.g., in the series "Bibliothek der Technik, No. 4, Speicherprogrammierbare Steuerungen, 1987" (Library of Technology, No. 4, Stored Program Controllers, 1987). The programming instructions are input in an S.C.-related format specific to the application. Common formats include the instruction list, the contact plan, the logic plan, the function plan or the procedure language. Common among all S.C. application-related languages is that the individual programming instructions are input in the sequence in which they are subsequently processed in the CPU. To transfer a program that is input in an S.C. application-related programming language to a program that can be directly executed by the CPU, it must therefore be converted into an application program by sentence-by-sentence translation of machine language. The programming is carried out in program modules which contain one or more technologically or functionally related program instructions. A complete S.C. program is generally composed of several program modules, the individual modules being input in different S.C. application-related languages. Usually, the sequence of an S.C. program can be displayed on a screen and modified if necessary, for example, by removing program modules or adding new ones.
The suggestion of programming a numerically controlled machine in a high-level language not designed for this application is known from European Pat. No. 254 352. In this case, the program input by an operator will be interpreted in an automatic program section (compiler), checked for errors, and if appropriate, converted into an executable program. In this process, the creation of an executable program can be difficult and time-consuming, depending on the task and the programming skill of the operator. Frequently, the structure of the machine to be programmed leads to machine-specific problems that can only be solved with the high-level language used.